Physiological properties

Digestion system in cats and dogs

Proteins are digested in the proximal part of the gastrointestinal tract. Normally, this process is effective both in cats and in dogs*. The effectiveness of food digestion in young animals could be lower than in adult ones, which could possibly be caused by insufficient physiological development of the intestine and the fact that secretion in the gastrointestinal tract lacks adaptation to variegated foods**.

*(Zentek et al., 1998; Funaba etal., 2005)
**(Harper & Turner, 2000)

The ability to digest food and tolerance of such complex carbohydrates as starch are quite high in cats, although the activity of amylase in parenchyma of the pancreas and of the content of the small intestine are much lower than in other animals, for example, dogs*.

* (Kienzle, 1993)

Cats digest fats/lipids well, because these substances not only serve for them as an importance source of energy but also perform a whole number of additional functions*.

It was proved that healthy cats are able to digest foods with a very high fat content without any adverse consequences for their digestion system.

During experiments performed on cats, the felines were given foods with various sources of fat and with different fat saturation. Digestion of fats was worse in older animals.

Young and aging cats digested saturated fatty acids somewhat worse comparing to their middle-aged counterparts**.

* (Bauer, 2006)
**(Peachey et al., 1999)

Triple immunity protection: probiotics, prebiotics, Omega 3 fatty acids

Microorganisms begin to colonize the gastrointestinal tract of cats and dogs immediately after birth, and a few weeks later microflora of their intestine becomes similar to microflora of adult animals*.

Bacterial microflora of their intestine contributes to maintaining the host’s body in healthy state, participating in the digestion process.

However, it also can play an important role in pathogenesis of intestine diseases. Its composition and metabolic activity depend on the animal’s individual features and diseases it contracted.

The composition of the gastrointestinal tract’s microflora also depends on the food recipe and preparation technology, the quantity and quality of proteins the food contains**, dietary fiber and digestible carbohydrates***, and the use of food additives, for example, probiotics****.

*(Osbaldinson & Stowe, 1971)
**(Backus et al, 1994)
***(Fabey, 2003)
**** (Rastall,2004; Marshall Jones et al., 2006)

Essential fatty acids

Essential fatty acids include acids not synthesized in the body. Dogs and cats can receive them only with food. These acids are the precursors of two groups of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs): Omega 6 and Omega 3.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids perform five major functions:

* (Sardino et al.,1999)

Immune system of the gastrointestinal tract’s mucous membrane

The gastrointestinal tract has a large population of immune cells, which have various functions. The general purpose of immune cells in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy animals is to ensure the body’s tolerance of food antigens and endogenic bacterial antigens.

At the same time, the immune system of the gastrointestinal tract must retain its ability to react to pathogenic bacteria and harmful foreign antigens.

The immune system of the intestine includes components, some of which have a certain anatomic structure while others don’t.

The intestine secretion of mammals contains mostly the antibodies classed as immunoglobulins (Ig A). Normally, food tolerance quickly develops after a cat or a dog is switched to a food with a different composition of antigens.

If regulation of the immune system malfunctions, the animal may, at first, become highly sensitive to new food allergens, and only afterwards would the pet develop tolerance of them.

*(Day,2005;Stores & Waly 2006)

Antioxidants for health and antiaging effect

Vitamin E is a universal protector of cell membranes against damage from oxidation. The position it occupies in the membrane prevents the contact between oxygen and unsaturated lipids in membranes (formation of hydrophobic complexes). It protects biomembranes against destruction by peroxidation.

Its anti-oxidation effect also includes the ability to protect dual ties in carotene and vitamin A molecules against oxidation.

Vitamin E fosters (together with acrobat) the inclusion of selenium in the active center of glutathione peroxidase, thus activating fermentative antioxidant protection (glutathione peroxidase neutralizes lipid hydroperoxides).

Tocopherol is not only an antioxidant but also an antihypoxant, which can be explained by its ability to stabilize the mitochondrial membrane and rationalize oxygen consumption by cells.

It is worth noting that out of all cell organelles, mitochondria are the most sensitive to damage, because they contain the most easily oxidizing unsaturated lipids. Thanks to membrane-stabilizing effect of vitamin E, conjugation of oxidative phosphorylation, formation of adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate increase in mitochondria.

It is also worth noting that vitamin E controls the biosynthesis of ubiquinone – a component of respiratory chain and the most important antioxidant of mitochondria.

Pansteatitis, or vitamin E deficiency, “yellow fat disease”, manifests itself by diffused formation of fat or fibrous nodules. Especially many of these nodules are localized in the groin and on the ventral part of the body.

Palpation of nodules is painful, because of the inflammation of the subcutaneous tissue. This pathology develops more often in young animals and animals prone to overweight, whose diet lacks vitamin E or contains large quantities of unsaturated fatty acids. Inactivation of vitamin E may take place when you cook food or as a result of intensive oxidation of fats contained in food. Fabbrini and coauthors reported the case of pansteatitis registered in cats with pancreatic tumor.

*(Fabbrini et al.,2005)

The role of vitamins

Cats need water-soluble B vitamins. Their body cannot transform beta-carotene into retinol (active form of vitamin A).

These features indicate complete adaptation of cats to the food typical for predators. In natural conditions, they never experience deficiency of these vitamins, because they are present in large quantities in animal tissue.

B vitamins are water-soluble vitamins that do not accumulate in the body.

Biotin, riboflavin, niacin, inositol, pantothenic acid, thiamine and pyridoxine are important to maintain barrier functions of skin. If these vitamins are deficient, the animal develops dry, flaky seborrhea (hypersteatosis), accompanied by alopecia, skin itching, anorexia and weight loss.

Sometimes, the reason for biotin deficiency is consumption of large quantities of egg white. Avidin contained in egg white binds biotin, blocking its absorption. It results in development of dermatitis, which manifests itself by the appearance of papules and crusts.

Riboflavin deficiency results in the appearance of alopecia spots on the head and neck. There are known cases of niacin deficiency in animals that received low-protein corn-based foods.

Niacin and pyridoxine deficiency could be reproduced on animals in experimental conditions. However, ready foods usually contain sufficient quantities of these vitamins.

Food enrichment with B vitamins could be necessary in the case of anorexia or polyuria. Beer yeasts are usually used as a source of B vitamins.

Certain B vitamins improve, in synergy with histidine, the barrier function of epidermis and reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

*(Watson et al., 2006)

Maintaining sharp eyesight

Cats are unable to transform beta-carotene in vitamin A contained in plants. Therefore, beta-carotene must be present in their daily diet.

Vitamin A performs many important functions; in particular, it helps maintain healthy eyesight and rejuvenate skin. Cats that do not receive sufficient quantities of vitamin A suffer from worsening condition of skin, develop alopecia and generalized skin flaking.

To eliminate these unhealthy manifestations, it is usually enough to have your pet switch to a balanced meat diet. We do not recommend enriching the food with vitamin A, because there could be a high risk of your cat contracting hypervitaminosis A.

Hypervitaminosis A

In the past, this pathology was registered more often than today. It usually occurred in animals that were fed large quantities of raw liver. Today, this pathology occurs mostly when the owners add cod liver oil to pet food.

Hypervitaminosis A manifests itself the most often in the form of osteoarthritis: a cat loses the ability to move normally. As a result, the animal stops taking care of its fur, which becomes disheveled and dirty.

Healthy, shining fur

Skin and its derivatives is an important organ that performs various functions. It serves as a barrier maintaining stable inner environment of the pet’s body. In addition, it plays an important role in creating the body’s immune response to external factors, in metabolism, sensory perception and thermoregulation.

Unbalanced consumption of such substances as amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and microelements disrupts the barrier function of skin and its derivatives and weakens the immune system which it ensures. In this situation, cats and dogs become more vulnerable to infections, and develop allergic reactions more often.

Skin and fur is a mirror that reflects the state of the animal’s health and the quality of its nutrition.

Fur and hair consist of 95% protein. They have a lot of sulfur-containing amino acids, such as methionine and cysteine. Up to 30% of protein received with food is spent on the growth of hair and fur and rejuvenation of skin (Scott et al., 2001).

If the need in protein is not satisfied, it would result in deterioration of fur and skin, accompanied by generalized skin flaking (dandruff), loss of pigment, worse growth of hair and fur, which becomes dull and starts shedding.

Protein deficiency can occur as a result of its insufficient intake (i.e., when an animal receives unbalanced diet cooked at home or factory-produced foods of low quality or with low protein content), or a systemic disease (gastroenteropathy, accompanied by protein loss, nephropathy, and chronic bleeding).

The reasons for metabolism disorders must be identified and eliminated.

Protecting the cardiovascular system

Nutrition plays an important role in etiology and therapy of cardiovascular diseases. Sodium consumption control allows to regulate functional condition of the cardiovascular system.

A specific feature of cats: unlike with dogs, they need taurine to be included to their diet. For cats, this amino acid is essential.

The synthesis of bile acids in cats depends only on the content of taurine in diet. The reason is that in cats, activity of liver ferments responsible for the synthesis of taurine from sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine) is too low.

Based on the results of modeling excessive consumption of sodium by animals and on the relevant medical information, many veterinarians believe that blood pressure can be significantly reduced by regulating sodium consumption.

Although we know that it’s dangerous to visibly and sharply raise sodium consumption by cats with systemic hypertension, no special studies that could confirm the positive impact from limitation of sodium content in diet on blood pressure and lifespan were held.

If the content of taurine in food a cat receives becomes insufficient, the concentration of this amine acid in tissue will gradually decrease over several months, first of all, in blood plasma, then in whole blood, and then in muscle tissue, retina and nervous tissue*.

It was proved that taurine deficiency is the main reason for dilated cardiomyopathy in cats**. If this pathology is diagnosed on time, it could be corrected by introducing taurine to diet.

Taurine has effect on the movement of calcium and sodium ions in myocardium, playing an important role in regulation of systolic and diastolic functions of myocardium*. Interaction between taurine and calcium ensures its positive ionotropic action.

*(Pacioretty et al., 2001)
**(Pion et al., 1987)
***(Novotny et al.,1991)